Air Ride Self Supporting Automotive Hitch

My prototype was built to balance and distribute weight of an unbalanced vehicle or towing combination. It uses an axle behind the vehicle supported by an air bag or air spring that's capable of supporting thousands of pounds depending on wheel/tire combo and air bag capacity. The ride this device provides is simply amazingly comfortable! It plugs into a hitch on any vehicle. It is adjustable to fit most any vehicle or trailer hitch height.

It can totally eliminate sag on the rear of the vehicle and carry the weight of the hitch from a trailer or can be used between multiple trailers to keep them from unbalancing each other.

For instance, a person buys a pickup but occasionally tows or places heavy loads in the bed such as dirt, rock or firewood or tows an RV or Construction trailer. The hitch hog can support that weight and can keep the vehicle level without having the feeling of light or unbalanced steering.

Approximatelyq 80% of the weight will rest on my hitch with the other 20% resting on the vehicle to help with traction and control of the given weight on the hitch.

Rear axle temperatures are vastly reduced as well as tire loading. This has given me a 15% to 20% gain in towing fuel mileage because tires or axles are no longer in a heavily loaded state. The mpg gain comes from the reduced rolling resistance.

The tires on my hitch do not steer or turn. This adds wheelbase length to the vehicle which helps with control and stability. The tires lift in very tight corners to remove the ability to drag. In normal driving the hitch becomes the steering axle for the trailer instead of the tow vehicle rear axle. This separates the ability for the trailer to pitch or re-steer the tow vehicle. The added wheelbase along with rebalance of weight from my hitch gives the driver an amazing feeling of security and safety within the towing combination. Instead of a trailer being able to control a tow vehicle from something like sway, the hitch redistributes the weight within the wheelbase of the tow vehicle. This allows the tow vehicle incredible leverage over any size trailer and weight. This prototype could save thousands of lives from crashes concerning unbalanced weights along with uncontrollable trailer sway.

The prototype uses commonly found parts and can easily be manufactured with CNC machined parts and welded with common sized steel. The electronics control air dump features and air compressor operations.

The suspension of my hitch closely mirrors the suspension of the tow vehicle. This allows one to go over curbs, dips or common angle driveways without removing the traction of the tow vehicle axle. There are not many devices commercially available, but out of whats out there my hitch could be priced in line with the competition.

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ABOUT THE ENTRANT

Name: Carey Kuhn

Type of entry: individual

Profession:Engineer/Designer

Carey is inspired by:
Automotive towing has remained virtually unchanged since the automotive revolution. I have prototyped a device that taps into another frontier of towing or hauling a load with a vehicle. The safety I have found from on road testing could save many crashes and lives along with providing better fuel mileage.